The King's Speech To Announce 'All But The End Of Leasehold System' System'

If it does come about, that will be an end to an unjust feudal relic.

The recent revival and abuse of the leasehold is leading to measures that are using a sledgehammer to crush a nut.

Most leasehold properties have long leases and low fees and in most cases the leases can be extended at a reasonable cost.

DD lived in Letchworth Garden City. Originally everyhouse was leasehold with 999 year leases and an unchangeable £30 a year leasehold charge. DD could have bought the freehold of her house for a couple of thousand £s, but didn't bother on the basis that with nearly 900 years still left of the lease, she as good as had a freehold anyway.

I absolutely agree that, after recent abuses, leasehold needs reform, but I see no reason for abolition.

Abuse of the leasehold system needs to change. I live in a leasehold property in Wales and we pay one daffodil each year. I don't feel that's too onerous but people paying unfair and mounting costs each year needs to be stopped.

There's been disgraceful abuse of leaseholds in recent years. Thank goodness something is being done about it, it has made too many properties unsaleable and caused untold misery to some people who were IMO misled by solicitors working on behalf of builders not their clients.

It's the "all but" bit that's a bit worrying.

I hope it will apply to warden assisted/retirement properties. The developers of these projects play fast and loose with the residents, as, to some extent, they've got them over a barrel and can be a nightmare to sell.

All the time a property is leasehold you're at the mercy of the freeholder. Even if it's a share of the freehold arrangement, it's still treated as a leashold property for sale and purchase purposes.

AGAA4

Abuse of the leasehold system needs to change. I live in a leasehold property in Wales and we pay one daffodil each year. I don't feel that's too onerous but people paying unfair and mounting costs each year needs to be stopped.

Is that Bulb or flower? And how do you pay it?

The building I live in was built in 1918 for soldiers incapacitated in WW1. The landowner agreed that as it was built for that purpose he would only charge a daffodil each year for the lease. This has continued for over a hundred years. It is just a daffodil flower and one of the residents pays each year. This for Whitewave.

Now that is so civilised! Be good to turn it into a bulb and plant them all - in memory of the fallen soldiers😊, what a lovely legacy.

I suppose the ‘all but’ could except some ancient leases, such as AGAA4 describes.
The leases on new build houses, which one would expect to be freehold as apparently a bone of contention. I have heard that they can rise exponentially.

The issue with leaseholds is when they drop under the 100 year mark.

My friend’s father died a couple of years ago, his flat was a to, he lived there for 40 years and the lease was a mere 70 years, before she could even think about she had to pay the enormous sum of £45,000 to extend said lease, this was on a very modest one bedroom flat, conversion not proudest built, in a very average area.

I’d be glad to see the back of leaseholds.

AGAA4

The building I live in was built in 1918 for soldiers incapacitated in WW1. The landowner agreed that as it was built for that purpose he would only charge a daffodil each year for the lease. This has continued for over a hundred years. It is just a daffodil flower and one of the residents pays each year. This for Whitewave.

I love the sound of that!

Sorry about typos in my post about friends lease!!

Yes we paid a little over that to extend the lease for Mum’s flat after she died.

The other issue is as others have said the extortionate fees etc, which appear to begin at say between 3-6k a year and rise exponentially.

I do think that the whole issue of residential housing and extortion needs to be looked at.

The trouble I think that people have been encouraged to look at all property as an asset rather than housing, therefore the temptation to exploit this asset is too great and results in what we are seeing today with a massive housing crises, exploitation and misery.

It is right to end the leasehold system, but again, if it happens, it again feels to me that it will happen despite Starmer and Reeves, not because of them.

M0nica

The recent revival and abuse of the leasehold is leading to measures that are using a sledgehammer to crush a nut.

Most leasehold properties have long leases and low fees and in most cases the leases can be extended at a reasonable cost.

DD lived in Letchworth Garden City. Originally everyhouse was leasehold with 999 year leases and an unchangeable £30 a year leasehold charge. DD could have bought the freehold of her house for a couple of thousand £s, but didn't bother on the basis that with nearly 900 years still left of the lease, she as good as had a freehold anyway.

I absolutely agree that, after recent abuses, leasehold needs reform, but I see no reason for abolition.

Not all properties have long leases and it is not the case that the costs are low to extend.

I met up with a friend at the weekend who lives in Little Paxton in an apartment.

The apartment had a 99 year lease when built in 2007- and was originally sold for £210,500 in 2007. My friend purchased it around 7 years ago for around £15,000 more. She subsequently extended the lease by 99 years. She told me the cost of the lease extension was around £17,000 but in addition she had to pay her surveyor costs, her own legal costs, the legal costs of the free holder and a fee to the management company to change the lease detail. Total lease extension cost was over £21,000. So all in all she has laid out around £245k so far for her 2 bed apartment.She now has pepper corn ground rent. monthly service charges have risen to nearly £300 a month.

Her neighbour is in a much worse position. The neighbour had not been able to afford to extend the lease and it now has one 77 years remaining, with annual ground rent of £600 a year ( there is an increase every 10 year anniversary) and service charges of nearly £300 a month. The neighbour lost their job and tried to sell the apartment last year. 2 buyers made offers but pulled out as mortgage lenders would not lend as the lease term was below 80 years, plus with his service charge and ground rent costs.

So it, was then marketed for a cash buyer- no takers. Now is up for auction in June on Right Move for £140,000.

My friend feels stuck, and rues the day she bought the apartment, without full understanding of leasehold implication and the large cost of extending her lease.

I wonder what Charles will think reading this. He always lobbied not letting residents buy the land that their house sits on!

Residents on the Isles of Scilly feel restricted by the duchy's control over leasehold properties, which they describe as a "feudal" system.
The inability to purchase leaseholds has been a point of contention, with calls for reform to allow residents more rights regarding their properties

Why will the King have egg on his face mae?

Smileless2012

Why will the King have egg on his face mae?

I wondered the same 🤔

The King is Head of State but not an Absolute Monarch so he is reading the speech, drafted by the Government, on behalf of his Government.

What is it some people seem to not understand about how our country is run?

Samwam

I wonder what Charles will think reading this. He always lobbied not letting residents buy the land that their house sits on!

Residents on the Isles of Scilly feel restricted by the duchy's control over leasehold properties, which they describe as a "feudal" system.
The inability to purchase leaseholds has been a point of contention, with calls for reform to allow residents more rights regarding their properties

As he is a supreme professional, we will not know what he thinks.

What is it some people seem to not understand about how our country is run?

A property I had lived in some years ago had a ground rent (lease) of one peppercorn per annum which nobody ever collected. When we moved out after living there for some 20 years I left behind a small jar containing 20 peppercorns and a label saying ground rent.

Brilliant! 😁

Lemnjam The point I was making is that the leasehold system needs reform as your example shows, the case you uote is one of the recent abuses of the system that have brought it into disrepute, but many, possible the majority of the leasehold properties in this country date back 50 or 100 years or more and most of them work perfectly well. The leasehold system does have flaws, but abolition will cause more problems.

I thought the king didn't look well today or is he just sick of all the mess being made here and abroad.
Sorry for going off track.

AGAA4

I thought the king didn't look well today or is he just sick of all the mess being made here and abroad.
Sorry for going off track.

I have just watched the King reading his speech and I agree with you AGAA4, he did not look ir sound well.